New Royals charity named for Yordano Ventura will fund youth baseball in Dominican

The Royals on Friday announced the establishment of a new charitable fund that will be named in honor of Yordano Ventura and benefit youth baseball projects in the Dominican Republic.

Ventura died early Sunday when his Jeep veered off a rural highway on the Caribbean island. He was 25.

Becoming Yordano: A trip to the backroads of the Dominican Republic 

Set up under the club’s Royals Charities arm, the ACE 30 Memorial Fund will accept donations at www.royals.com/yordano.

Ventura was known in his homeland for working with kids in the offseason. He worked out at the Royals’ Dominican Academy in Guerra, Santo Domingo, and stayed in touch with Liga Kelly, the program in which he learned to play baseball in his hometown of Las Terrenas.

He also served as co-chair of the Royals Baseball Equipment Drive, which provides baseball equipment and funding for young baseball and softball players around Kansas City.

Donations to the ACE 30 Memorial Fund may also be mailed to:

Royals Charities

Attn: ACE 30 Memorial Fund

1 Royal Way

Kansas City, Mo., 64129

Yordano Ventura in his own words: 'Proud to be on Kansas City's team' 

This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "New Royals charity named for Yordano Ventura will fund youth baseball in Dominican."